First Flight
by Pepper Lane
Summary: Short one-shot; Tonks visits her old classmate Charlie Weasley in Romania, and he has something unusual to show her.


_Another one-shot about Nymphadora Tonks; I did a considerable amount of dragon research for this one. Takes place a month after their graduation from Hogwarts, at Charlie's new job training dragons in Romania._

_For the record, this is not a Tonks/Charlie, they're just good friends in this story. Enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer: All the loverly magical creations in this story belong to J.K. Rowling. Except for Vola. She belongs to me. :)**_

* * *

"You sure about this, Charlie?!"

"Just like riding a broomstick, I swear!"

"That's crap and you know it!"

His laughter echoed through the takeoff plain. "Hold on tight!"

Her joyful screams were whipped away by the wind and the leathery flap of dragon wings. And then...she was flying. Headfirst into the dampness of the clouds, the moisture cooling her face and plastering bits of her long, turquoise hair, changed specially for the flight, to her cheeks.

Out over the dark emerald forests and meadows, out over a vast blue lake, its surface glittering and dancing in the noonday sun.

Nymphadora Tonks grasped the weather-beaten leather reins tighter than ever, pulling up on them slightly to make the adolescent dragon slow in flight. Kneading her left heel gently into the shimmering green hide, she pulled the dragon into a wide, wheeling turn and began the return flight, gradually descending back to the takeoff plain.

At last a reddish-brown spot became visible at the edge of the plain, and as Tonks landed, the grinning figure of Charlie Weasley became clearer. He ran forward to assist her dismount, even the burn scar on his chin seeming to cooperate with his proud, pleased expression.

"Isn't she fantastic? Small enough to guide, smooth as a fish through water, not to mention gentle as a dove." A low rumble was emitted from the scaly belly beside them.

"Think she heard you." Tonks laughed a bit nervously, still breathless.

"She's just not completely comfortable with the bridle yet," Charlie brushed it off. "Doesn't have spiky back ridges, either. Definitely ideal for riding."

"She was great," Tonks grinned. "Now you gonna to tell me how in the _hell_ you got a dragon tame enough to ride?"

"Well," Charlie smiled thoughtfully, grabbing the reins and leading the scaly beast out of the takeoff plain, "The truth is, I didn't. Vola is the very first known Grack, and her characteristics are a pretty lucky result of unlikely combination."

Tonks cocked a curious eyebrow. "A Grack? What kind of unlikely combination produced that, a griffin and a Snorkack?"

"A Welsh Green and a Hebridean Black, actually."

Incredulity sprang Tonks' face—it was common knowledge that hybrids between dragon breeds were exceedingly rare—but Charlie nodded firmly.

"I know. I had a nasty shock when I saw the Hebridean descending down to mate with the Welsh Green we have here. There was nothing I could do, though; dragons get highly perturbable and incredibly dangerous during mating. I alerted one of the master trainers to witness it so I wouldn't be accused of breeding them myself—illegal, you know."

Tonks nodded attentively.

"Anyway, Vola hatched a few months later. Soon as we started handling her, we could see she was different; much less aggressive, tiniest thing we've ever seen at a little less than 5 metres, and severely retarded firebreathing abilities. Barely gets out enough flame to roast a small dog. Not that she'd even want to; she's uncommonly gentle for a dragon. My friend," Charlie announced, arm sweeping in a grand motion, "I give you, first known, truly tame, truly ridable dragon!"

"Incredible," Tonks said, casting her frank, curious gaze on the dragon. "Guess she got her dad's eyes, huh?"

Charlie smiled approvingly. "That's right. Hebrideans are known for their purple eyes."

"Known for their aggression, too. Funny that she didn't inherit that part. Where'd you come up with her name?"

"From the Latin '_volans_,' meaning 'flying fish.'"

Tonks laughed. "So she really is like a fish to you?"

"Graceful and harmless like one, isn't she?"

Tonks smiled, twisting a long, turquoise strand of hair thoughtfully. "I wonder what they'd think back at Hogwarts if you or I were to sweep in riding Vola."

They glanced at each other and burst into hearty laughter. "Probably run for their lives screaming, at first. Take 'em a while to get used to a tame dragon, wouldn't it?"

As their laughter quieted and faded away, thoughtful, reminiscing silence took its place.

"You still miss it, too?" Charlie asked quietly.

Tonks' hair grew shorter, to her shoulders, and turned a deeper blue.

"Still can't believe I stood there in those halls only a few weeks ago." She stroked Vola's green scales absent-mindedly. "For the last time."

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_And so ends another Tonks fic! Hope you guys liked it. This ended up being an outlet for a bit of grad sadness I'm feelin right now. _

_Anywho, give me ideas or requests for other Tonks fics you'd like me to write! Just click that review button._

_~Pepper Lane_


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